How to Deal With Deserters
Last week the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the case of two U.S. Army deserters who sought refugee status in Canada (see story). I was very happy with this decision for reasons which may become clear later.
Over the last couple of days I have heard this discussed on talk radio and heard it suggested that now that we have come this far, Canada should move to expelling draft dodgers from the Vietnam War era. This I feel would be completely wrong, and anyone who proposes this probably does not have a complete understanding of History.
To be clear, I think the Vietnam War was an unjust war that the United States had no business fighting. I also believe that in many ways including that one there are very strong comparisons to be made between that war and the current war in Iraq. I believe that there is no way for the US to win the current war, and at this point there is really no graceful way for it to extricate itself from an unwinnable situation without admitting defeat. Because of that – as was the case in Vietnam – people are dying needlessly; Iraqis and Americans alike are dying and will continue to die for as long as the US is in country. Would the killing stop if the US were to pull out? No, but the people dying would not be American soldiers.
Having said all of that there is one huge difference between the wars as it pertains to the soldiers that the Commander-In-Chief is sending into harm's way. Forty years ago the soldiers being sent were mostly drafted into the service, and did not have a choice. It was easy enough to avoid the draft – as long as your family knew the right people, or if you were attending university. In other words, if you were Hispanic, African-American, Native American, or poor then chances are you were going to be drafted, and there was a good chance at that point that you would be sent to Vietnam. Those people protesting the war usually had good cause to protest – they did not have a choice. The people who ran to Canada to escape the draft were running for their lives from powers over which they had no control
There is no longer a draft in the United States… and it is my understanding that judges no longer give criminals the choice between prison and the army. Any soldier in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are there because they made the decision that they wanted to serve. Oftentimes that decision was based on peacetime conditions that promised them a college education in exchange for their service, or some other belief that they would not see active duty. Unfortunately the world changed, and the US found itself involved in conflicts that necessitated the deployment of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. All of a sudden the volunteers who swore their oaths in peace time are facing the real possibility of armed combat.
I feel sorry for any soldier who does not believe in the conflict that he is called to fight in. It is a horrible situation to be forced to fight for something you do not believe in. Not that it is ever easy to go into battle, but it is easier if you are fighting for a cause you agree with.
The problem is that as civilians we can decide which causes to support and which ones we do not support. If you are against the conflict in Iraq you can tell your friends, you can protest, you can call talk radio and lambaste the leadership, and you can blog your opinions freely. Most importantly when the time comes you can vote your conscience, and if that is what is called for then you can help to elect a new leader who agrees with you. As civilians you pledge allegiance to the flag, but you do not take the oath that every soldier takes when he enters the service; the oath of allegiance – the oath that says that you will follow the orders of your commanding officers.
I once took one of those oaths, and although I was drafted I still took it very seriously. I was during my service asked to do things that I did not at the time understand and often things that I did not agree with, but as a soldier it was my duty to carry out the orders of my commanders. I only mention this because it is easy to have an opinion based on theory; I have been there and base mine on the hard realities.
No soldier has the right to refuse a lawful order. It is wrong in a conscript army, but it is reprehensible from a volunteer. The army that pays your salary during peace time should not have to worry that you will desert when the situation changes. In the army there may be internal conflict, but it has to be clear that orders are orders, and a soldier does not have the right which orders to follow or what situation may nullify the need to do so.
I believe it was President Reagan who pardoned all Vietnam-era draft-dodgers and deserters. If for no other reason then based on that the Americans who chose to flee to Canada are not criminals, and should not be considered such. Those who are here to this day have spent the past thirty to forty years building a life for themselves and their families, and should not have to worry about being harassed for their bad decisions from 1971.
Why do I say bad decisions? I think it is admirable to have principles, and character is shown when you are willing to stick to them, and often suffer the consequences of those convictions. That is called courage. Many Americans who did not believe in the war were prepared to go to jail rather than fight, and that is okay. Fleeing to Canada was not demonstrating principles, it was cowardice. Those draft dodgers were not making a statement that they refused to fight, they tucked tail and ran. No stand was made, no point. They never had to go to war, and they never had to suffer the consequences of the principled few. I do not respect them for it… but as did their president in the 1980s, I can forgive them.